A Little Chat
by Mythril Moth
Summary: When Adrien Agreste witnesses a murder committed by a member of the Black Organization, he's forced to swallow a poison which inexplicably shrinks his body to the size of a child! Unable to go home or see any of his friends, he transforms into Chat Noir and seeks out Ladybug for help.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**

This is just one of those random stupid, silly ideas I just had to get down. I don't know where this is going, how long I'll drag it out, or when I'll even continue it. Don't take it too seriously, folks.

I apologize in advance for the godawful pun in the title. No, not really. XD

Oh, and this one _is_ set after Volpina.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG/DETECTIVE CONAN: "A LITTLE CHAT"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter One**

Adrien grunted in pain as he fell to the ground. He tasted copper in his mouth.

 _*Stupid...*_ He cursed himself for being seen.

He cursed himself for not transforming before he decided to spy on what were obviously some very dangerous criminals.

As the sneering man who towered above him forced his mouth open and shoved a poison capsule inside, he thought of Ladybug, how he'd never look into those sparkling bluebell eyes again...

The men in black quickly fled the alley, and Adrien screamed as his entire body burned as though his bones were melting.

* * *

Marinette was not having a good day.

She'd overslept and woken up late, barely making it to school in time for roll call.

Adrien had been absent from school for two days, and nobody seemed to be able to get in touch with him.

Most of her lunch break had been spent dealing with an obnoxious Akumatized sommelier who was determined to pour all the wine in Paris into the Seine for some unfathomable reason.

And Chat Noir was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

A pressurized blast of wine caught her in the face, filling her nostrils with the fragrance of fermented grapes. She coughed and spluttered as she rolled out of the way. "Hey! I can't drink that much wine! I'm underage!" She used her Lucky Charm, which produced a large, ladybug-spotted wine cork. She flipped toward the villain and stuffed it into the end of his wine cannon, which exploded spectacularly, releasing the Akuma, which she quickly purified.

Once everything was back to normal and all the wine in Paris was safe, Ladybug swung away, landing on the roof of Collège Françoise Dupont. "So much for lunch," she sighed. "Where the heck was Chat Noir?" Her Miraculous beeped. Grimacing, she started to detransform...

"Ladybug?"

She froze. She turned around to see a young blonde boy, perhaps eight or nine, dressed as Chat Noir, right down to the lashing leather cat tail and slit-pupiled green eyes.

"Ah..." She coughed. "Shouldn't you be at another school? One for younger children? Although I do like your Chat Noir costume, it's very authentic."

"Ladybug, it's...it's me," the boy said. "It's really me." He ducked his head, his cheeks burning red. "The real Chat Noir. I...I need your help."

Ladybug blinked. "Wh-what?" She laughed. "Umm...s-sorry, but...Chat Noir's like, way older than—"

"You sprayed me with sea breeze deodorizer when we were fighting Animan," the boy said. "When Lady Wifi thought Chloé Bourgeois was Ladybug, we watched her tie herself up with a toy yo-yo. Kung Food tried to kill us with a giant pizza sword on the roof of Le Grand Paris. You used the shiny foil inside a chocolate ice cream wrapper to blind Volpina on top of the Eiffel Tower."

Ladybug stared at him, her jaw dropping. Her Miraculous beeped again.

"I need your help," Chat Noir repeated. "I...I can't even go home like this. I'm..."

Ladybug's Miraculous beeped one last time. The final dot flickered and faded, and then she was Marinette.

Chat Noir's eyes widened. "Marinette...?"

Ladybug gasped, instinctively feeling her face, looking down at herself. _"Merde,"_ she moaned.

And then Chat Noir smiled. "I always wondered who the girl behind the mask was," he said. "Now I know, even if you didn't mean to tell me."

Marinette sighed and sat down. "Okay, okay, so you know who I am now," she said.

"Your secret is safe with me, My Lady," Chat Noir said, sketching a bow.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "And _now_ I believe you," she said. She looked Chat Noir up and down, then started giggling. "What the heck happened to you, Chaton? Did...did you shrink in the wash?"

Chat Noir snorted, folding his arms and giving her a sullen glare. "Marinette, this is _serious!_ "

"It...it is kinda funny," giggled the little pinkish-red Kwami sitting next to Marinette. Chat Noir's eyes flicked to her, and he sighed.

"Please," he said. "This is embarrassing enough without the two of you laughing at me."

"S-sorry," Marinette snickered, forcing herself to stop laughing. "What...what _did_ happen?"

Chat Noir walked over and sat down beside her. "I saw something I wasn't supposed to," he said. "The other day, I heard some shouting. I went to check it out. I...I went as the real me, not as Chat Noir. I got there just in time to watch this man dressed all in black shoot a city councillor in the back of the head with a Deringer."

Marinette gasped.

"He had a partner," Chat Noir continued. "His partner conked me upside the head, then they shoved this capsule in my mouth and forced me to swallow it. Then they left." He sighed. "I thought for sure I was a dead man. Then some time later, I woke up and I was like this." He gestured to his minuscule body.

"Oh God...Chat Noir..." Marinette pulled him into a hug. "That's horrible..."

"Anyway, once I realized what had happened, I knew I...I knew I couldn't go home," Chat Noir said miserably. "I can't go to school, I can't see any of my friends..." He looked up at Marinette, a painful flicker in his eyes. "All I could think of to do was turn into Chat Noir and sneak around the city. I had enough pocket money to live off of for about a week, so I've at least been able to eat, but I've been sleeping on roofs and fighting off pigeons."

"You've been transformed for two whole days?" Tikki asked.

Chat Noir grimaced. "Yeah, and..." He sighed. "I think I'm gonna need to stay transformed for a while. I, umm..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't want to go back to being, y'know, _me_ while I'm like this. It's...it's just too embarrassing." He slumped forward, his eyelids heavy. "I'm so tired, though..."

Without warning, he pitched forward onto the roof.

"Chat Noir!" Marinette rolled him over; she sighed in relief as she saw his chest rise and fall with steady, even breaths. "He's just asleep," she said. She looked at Tikki. "What...what do we do about this?"

Tikki frowned. "We need to get him to the Great Guardian," she said. "He'll know what to do."

Marinette watched Chat Noir sleep, then sighed. "You're right. I guess I'll be missing my afternoon classes..." She pulled out her phone. "My parents won't be too mad at me if I say I found a sick boy who passed out right in front of me and I'm taking him to the hospital."

"Well, it's not a _total_ lie," Tikki said as she hovered over Chat Noir, brushing a lock of hair out of his face.

* * *

Master Fu's face twitched as his hands hovered over Chat Noir. He opened his eyes, slumped forward, and sighed.

"Can you help him, Master?" Tikki asked.

"This poison is like nothing I have encountered before," Master Fu said. "I am not entirely certain I can draw it out of him, or even if drawing the poison out of him will heal him."

"Couldn't I heal him with my—" Marinette began.

"Not at your current level," Master Fu said, turning to her. "Ladybug, you are a wonderful hero, and at your young age and with almost no real training, you have saved Paris time and again. But there are finer, more nuanced uses to your power that take years to develop and refine."

"Oh," Marinette said, crestfallen. "But...you said poison, right?"

"Unquestionably," Master Fu said darkly. "Chat Noir's body has been defiled by something truly foul. In terms modern medicine might use, his cells have been chemically altered. In terms that actually matter, his body has been tricked into constantly killing itself and healing itself in every breath and beat of his heart." He stroked his chin. "If I had to guess, I would say the poison used was designed to force his body to burn itself up, to use all of his years of natural healing and growth in one go until it simply gives out."

Marinette gasped. "Is...is he going to die?"

"I do not believe so," Master Fu said. "The poison's effects seem to have reached some level of stability. Still, until we can find an antidote, or some other way to remove this poison from his body..." He frowned, studying Chat Noir worriedly. "I'm afraid he's going to be stuck like this."

"You mean he'll...he'll have to grow up all over again?"

"No, I mean he'll be stuck like this. His body will _never_ grow."

Marinette paled. "Oh God. That's..." She reached out and took one of Chat's hands, squeezing it. "So...so what do we do?"

"I'm going to need to research this, see if I can find anything remotely similar that has happened before," Master Fu said. "In the meantime..." He frowned. "Perhaps it would be best if you care for him. I don't expect your parents would object, they seem like decent and reasonable people."

"Of course," Marinette agreed. "We have enough room for a guest, if they're willing to take him in." She frowned worriedly. "But what...what about his own family? His friends? I mean, I have no idea who he is when he isn't, y'know, Chat Noir, but _somebody_ must be worried sick about him..."

Master Fu sighed. "That is a matter for you and Chat Noir to consider among yourselves," he said. "Miraculous users throughout history are no stranger to having their identities revealed due to a grave injury that is impossible to conceal, but this, well..." He shrugged. "This one has me stumped, and I have lived for over a hundred and eighty years." He smiled gamely. "You could always let him transform back, find out who he really is, then stick a pair of glasses on him so nobody will recognize him and say he's your cousin or something."

Marinette stared at him. "That's the best you can come up with?" she cried, throwing her hands up.

"Well, it works in comic books," Master Fu said with a grin.

Marinette's head slumped forward. "Greeeat."

Chat Noir groaned and opened his eyes. He sat up, blinking, and looked around. "Ugh," he muttered. "Marinette? Where are—?"

"Hello, Chat Noir," Master Fu said. "I wish we had met under different circumstances."

Chat Noir peered at him. "I...I know you," he said slowly. "I've seen you somewhere before..."

"This is the guardian of the Miraculous," Marinette said. "He's the one who gave us our Miraculous in the first place." She took a deep breath. "Chat Noir, we have some bad news..."

* * *

When Marinette returned to the bakery, her parents swarmed her. "Marinette! Are you alright? Your call had us so worried!"

"I'm fine, Mama," Marinette said. "But I do have something important to tell you..."

Chat Noir walked into the room, standing beside Marinette and rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Uhh...hi," he said. "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but...I'm Chat Noir."

Sabine blinked at him. Tom tilted his head.

"He got cursed by Hawk Moth," Marinette lied smoothly. "Ladybug asked me to take care of him until she can figure out how to uncurse him." She gave her parents a sheepish smile, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face. "So, umm...can we keep him?"

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. Detective Conan is the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry for keeping you guys waiting so long! I've been busy with other stuff.

Production on this, Disastrous, and Thermopylae will probably slow down for a while as I turn most of my attention to wrapping up my largest, most ambitious, most time-consuming story over on FiMFiction.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG/DETECTIVE CONAN: "A LITTLE CHAT"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter Two**

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng stared at their daughter and the boy, who could not be more than eight or nine, that she was insisting was Chat Noir.

"Honey, we've _met_ Chat Noir," Sabine said. "He's...he's a lot older than this."

"I know he is!" Marinette replied. "Usually." She took a deep breath. "I also know this is the real Chat Noir. Look, you know those Akumatized villains Ladybug and Chat Noir fight do a lot of strange things, right?"

Her parents grimaced, exchanging a look. "We, uhh...we do remember being trapped in giant bubbles and floated over Paris," Tom said.

"Well, this is just more of the same," Marinette said. "Ladybug said that thing she does that fixes everything didn't work this time, so she has to track down a way to cure him. It's absolutely him, though. He's Chat Noir."

"I hate to impose," Chat Noir said, "but I'm kind of out on a limb here. I can't go home like this, I can't change back into my real self, and I need to be someplace Ladybug knows she can find me."

Tom scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's not that we mind, of course," he said. "We're always happy to help out the saviors of Paris in any way we can."

"I'll try not to be a bother!" Chat Noir insisted. "I'll even help out around the bakery! I can sweep, clean things, anything you need help with!"

"Oh, now there's no need for that," Sabine said. "But we won't mind if you want to. It's just, are you sure your parents won't...won't understand?"

"Our identities are supposed to remain secret from everyone," Chat Noir said. "Even our families. It's for their protection. Imagine if Hawk Moth knew Ladybug's real identity, or mine, and could go after the people close to them."

Sabine grimaced. "I see your point," she said. "Still, that bothers me, that you're keeping this from your family—I know if Marinette was doing something as dangerous as what you and Ladybug do, I'd be very proud of her, but also very worried."

"WHYYYYY!—don't I get Chat Noir settled in upstairs?" Marinette interrupted, a bit of a nervous hitch in her voice. "I think right now what he needs is some rest and a good meal, right Chaton?"

"R-right," Chat Noir said. He yawned. "I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of days since this happened, mostly because I've been catching cat naps on rooftops."

"Oh dear!" Sabine gasped. "You poor thing! Why don't you go on upstairs with Marinette, and we'll bring up a little something for both of you to eat—you haven't had lunch, right dear?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Marinette said, rubbing her own growling stomach. "I got caught up in that Akuma attack while I was on the way home, then I had to deal with Chat Noir, then—"

"Go on upstairs, I'll bring something up in a few minutes."

* * *

Nathalie Sancoeur was not having a good day.

Nobody working for Gabriel Agreste was having a good day.

His son Adrien was missing.

Two days ago, the boy had simply disappeared off the face of the Earth. His school had been searched, his friends' homes had been searched, Le Grand Paris had been searched for all the good that did. Everywhere Nathalie could think of that he might have disappeared to had been searched.

His best friend Nino hadn't seen him. Nobody could reach him on his phone.

Gabriel was furious, and his temper only grew worse with every passing minute Adrien was missing.

"André," Gabriel spat at Mayor Bourgeois; the two men were inside Gabriel's study, and Nathalie stood outside. "I want every police officer in Paris searching for my son. I want every detective available scouring this city. I _will not_ —"

"Monsieur Agreste, I assure you, we are doing everything we can," Mayor Bourgeois said. "But you must understand, Paris is a very large city, and no matter how famous your son is, he is one teenage boy—"

"I don't care," Gabriel said. "Find him, or there will be repercussions."

Mayor Bourgeois bristled. "Are you _threatening me_ , Monsieur Agreste?"

Gabriel removed his glasses and stared at Mayor Bourgeois with laser intensity. "Find him," he repeated.

Mayor Bourgeois daubed sweat from his brow and straightened his sash. "I'll do whatever I can," he said shakily. "I'm going to try to contact Ladybug and Chat Noir—"

"Yes, whatever," Gabriel said dismissively and impatiently, turning his back on the mayor. "Just get it done."

Mayor Bourgeois bustled out of the office, his face pale and drawn. Nathalie watched him go, her eyes cloudy behind her glasses.

"Adrien, where _are_ you?" she whispered to herself.

"Nathalie!" Gabriel barked.

Nathalie jumped, took a deep, steadying breath, and walked into the very heart of Hell.

* * *

Chat Noir blinked in surprise as he climbed through the trap door into Marinette's room.

He'd been there before, of course—as Adrien. But there was something _very_ different about her room now.

"Umm, wow," he said slowly. "You've got...a _lot_ of pictures of Adrien Agreste."

"Eep!" Marinette squeaked as Chat Noir stood in place, looking around. "Oh my God! I, uh, I, ah, I—"

Chat Noir watched Marinette—who he now knew to be Ladybug, _his_ Ladybug—suddenly degenerate into a babbling, blushing, spastic mess. The same babbling, blushing, spastic mess Marinette occasionally turned into whenever she was around him. He raised an eyebrow. "You have a _crush_ on him, don't you?" he asked slowly, a teasing grin playing across his lips.

Marinette went through a series of crazed, jerky, abashed movements that made her look like some kind of deranged cartoon character. "Ah! I! Ah! No! That's! Crush? What? Hahaha, si-silly..." She scratched the back of her head, laughing shakily...then slumped forward, letting out a defeated sigh. "Yes," she admitted in a plaintive whimper. She looked up at him, her face red. "Is that weird?"

"Umm...no, not...not really," Chat Noir said, his cheeks pink. "Having a crush on somebody, that's, umm...that's totally normal." He ducked his head, scratching his hip nervously.

An awkward silence fell between the two, broken only when the trap door opened and Sabine poked her head through. "Lunch!" she called. She emerged into the room, bearing a large tray loaded with bread, sliced meat, and sliced cheese, along with fruit, two plates, and two bottled waters.

"Thank you, Mama," Marinette said.

"I hope you like sandwiches," Sabine said to Chat Noir, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I didn't have any cat food."

Marinette snickered. Chat Noir laughed. "Good one!" he said heartily. "And yeah, I do. Like sandwiches, I mean. I don't really care for cat food. I don't use a litterbox either."

Sabine laughed. "I'll let you get settled in," she said as she ducked out of the room, closing the door. Marinette rolled her eyes and grabbed the tray, setting it on her work table and dividing up the goodies.

"Come on, Minou, let's eat," Marinette said. She turned to see Chat Noir standing stock-still in the center of the room, a frozen expression on his face. "Chat Noir?"

"I, uh, just thought of something," Chat Noir said, shifting awkwardly. Marinette tilted her head, and Chat Noir coughed, face flaming. "Umm...I think there might be times when I'll _have_ to detransform," he said awkwardly. "You know, to, umm..."

"To..." Marinette's eyes widened as she caught his meaning. "Oh," she said. "Y-yeah. We'll...we'll have to work out an arrangement." She paused. "I mean, if you...if you want to keep your identity a secret." She spread some mustard on the inside of a baguette, then added, "Even though you know _mine_ now..."

"It's...it's not that I don't want you to know who I really am," Chat Noir said as he sat down and started making his own sandwich. "It's just..." He sighed. "I don't want you to know who I really am... _like this_." His cheeks colored again. "This is, well...it's embarrassing."

Marinette stopped making her sandwich and gave him a soft, tender smile. "I'm sorry, Chaton," she said. "I...I know this must be hard for you. For a lot of reasons. I'll...I'll do whatever I can to help you get through this. I promise."

Chat Noir smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, My Lady," he said.

They ate in silence for a minute.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"Yes, Chat Noir?"

"He'd be crazy not to like you back," Chat Noir said. "Adrien, I mean."

Marinette smiled and blushed. "Thanks."

After they finished eating, Chat Noir curled up on Marinette's chaise and fell asleep. She smiled at the sight; as infuriating as he could be on a regular basis, right now he just looked _adorable_. She spread a light blanket over him and brushed his hair out of his forehead. "Sleep tight, Minou," she whispered.

"Aww," Tikki cooed. "You found a pet _and_ a boyfriend all in one!"

"Tikki!" Marinette hissed, face burning red. Tikki giggled and floated over to the desk. Rolling her eyes and groaning, Marinette followed. Her phone was buzzing.

Alya was texting the heck out of her from study hall.

 _Where R U?_

 _Girl, teacher's getting mad!_

 _OMG Director Damocles just came in!_

 _Wow, you're off the hook for once! What happened?_

 _Adrien's still a no-show._

Marinette groaned and started replying.

 _Have a little problem. home dealing with it. Mama & Papa are helping. Will be school tomorrow._

* * *

Marinette spent the rest of the afternoon working on various design projects, occasionally checking on Chat Noir. He was sleeping peacefully, a small smile on his face as he snuggled into her chaise.

At 18:00, just as Chat Noir was starting to wake up, the trap door crashed open and a redheaded ball of energy burst through. "Yoo-hoo!" Alya cried cheerfully, waving her hands above her head. "I'm here with the schoolwork you missed!"

"GWAH!" Chat Noir yelped, springing off the chaise and clinging to the ceiling. His green eyes were wide, alert, and panicked, and his chest heaved.

Marinette groaned and slumped against her desk with a thump, then spun her chair around to face Alya. "Alya!" she hissed. "Do you have to make so much noise?"

Alya smirked and fanned herself with a notebook. "Well, your mom was so nervous about letting me come up that once I snuck past, I just had to—" She trailed off as she looked up and saw Chat Noir. "What...the...?"

"It's okay, Minou," Marinette said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "She won't bite. Come on down."

Chat Noir dropped to the floor, giving Alya a sheepish little wave. She blinked and waved back. "Umm...Marinette? What...?"

"I can explain, really!"

 _Five minutes later..._

Alya burst out laughing. "So...so Chat Noir...got _shrunk?!_ "

"It's not funny!" Chat Noir pouted, crossing his arms. His tail lashed furiously behind him.

"Alya, please don't put this on the Ladyblog," Marinette implored.

"Of...of course not," Alya said, fighting to speak through her giggles. "But still..." She wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "This is...this is one of the silliest..."

Chat Noir poked her in the stomach several times with his baton. "Cut it out," he said, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Okay, okay," Alya said, coughing and struggling to regain her composure. "So, umm...why you?" she asked Marinette. "Why did Ladybug just randomly dump her kitten in your lap?"

Marinette shrugged. "I was there?"

Alya gasped suddenly. "Oh my god! That means Ladybug's going to be coming by to check up on him!" She suppressed a delighted squeal. "If I stick around, I can interview Ladybug again!"

"I don't think she'd be too happy to have you bugging her right now," Chat Noir said crossly. "Not when she's busy trying to save my dignity." He cast his eyes away. "Not to mention I can't even go home until I'm back to normal."

Alya's humor died instantly, replaced by a frown. "Oh," she said softly. "I...I didn't even..." She shook her head. "I didn't mean..." She sighed. "I'm...I'm sorry, Chat Noir." She looked between Chat Noir and Marinette. "Anything I can do to help?"

Marinette shook her head. "This is just something Ladybug has to handle," she said.

* * *

Alya stuck around for another fifteen minutes before heading home. After that, Marinette worked on her homework for a time while Chat Noir excused himself to the bathroom for a long-overdue shower, after a quick detour downstairs to collect some cheese for his Kwami.

Sabine had thought the request odd. "Camembert?" she had asked.

"If you have it," Chat Noir said. "Or any cheese, really. It's..." He paused. "There's a living magical creature involved in mine and Ladybug's transformations, and they need to eat to recover their strength. Mine prefers cheese."

"Oh," Sabine had said. "That's really interesting. I'll make sure to keep some available for you then."

"Thanks," Chat Noir had said gratefully. "I doubt I'll be transforming back very often, and pretty much only when I need to, y'know, use the bathroom, but staying transformed for two straight days has really put a strain on him."

"I can only imagine. And on you too, I'm sure."

With some blue cheese in hand and safely locked in the second-floor bathroom, Chat Noir dropped his transformation. Adrien exhaled heavily, slumping against the tile wall, while Plagg sniffed at the chunk of moldy cheese. "It's not Camembert," he said.

"Well too bad, it's what Madame Cheng had," Adrien snapped. "We're relying on their kindness right now, we can't exactly be picky."

Plagg shrugged. "True enough." Plagg gave Adrien a sly grin. "So. Ladybug has a crush on you. That should make you really happy."

Adrien smiled dreamily. "All this time, she was right there in my class..."

"You know, you _could_ just go out there like this," Plagg said. "Let her know who you really are. She'll be even more—"

"NO!" Adrien said harshly. "Absolutely not! Until I'm back to normal, I can't let Marinette know..." He slid down the wall, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Now that I know...now that I know Ladybug is Marinette and Marinette has a crush on me, I can't—I can't risk screwing it up by..."

Plagg tilted his head. "You think she'll stop liking you if she sees you like this?"

"I can't take that chance," Adrien said. "Besides, this is...it's just too embarrassing..."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Teenagers."

With a sigh, Adrien undressed and climbed into the shower. After a long, luxurious shower, he emerged, freshly scrubbed and smelling of lavender and honeysuckle. He spent several minutes toweling himself dry, then held out his right hand, his Miraculous gleaming in the bathroom lights.

Plagg blinked at him. "Aren't you...going to get dressed first?"

"Are you kidding? My clothes are filthy! Besides, it's not as if they fit anymore anyway. _**Plagg, claws out!**_ "

Plagg let out a strangled squawk as he was sucked into the ring, and the leather catsuit of Chat Noir covered Adrien's nude body. Running his hand through his still-damp, shining hair, Chat Noir rounded up his clothes and stepped out into the hall, whistling.

Sabine was standing just down the hall. "Oh, you're done?" she asked. "I was just about to let you and Marinette know dinner is in an hour."

Chat Noir smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he said. "Can you show me where your laundry room is, please?"

"Of course."

* * *

Once Chat Noir put his clothes in the washer and (when nobody was looking) checked his messages before turning his phone off, he borrowed an old gym bag from Tom to put his things in once they were clean and dry. His phone and wallet, he debated keeping in his costume's zipper pockets, but ultimately decided to stow them with his clothes.

After transferring his clothes from the washer to the dryer, he washed his hands (an interesting experience when wearing clawed leather gloves) and joined the Dupain family for dinner.

"I saw you messing with your phone in the laundry room," Tom said over dinner. "Did you let your parents know you're alright?"

Chat Noir grimaced. "My father...let's just say for right now, it's better for everyone involved if I don't even send an 'I'm okay' text. I've turned my phone off."

Sabine frowned. "But...shouldn't you at least let somebody know you're alright?"

"You don't know my father," Chat Noir said morosely. "Besides, there's...other reasons I can't—trust me, I can't risk making contact. It has to look like I've just disappeared."

"Well...if you're sure," Sabine said doubtfully. She looked at Marinette, who also looked uncertain.

After dinner, Marinette went to her room to change into her pajamas, then came downstairs to find Chat Noir washing dishes. "I, umm...put extra blankets on my chaise," she said. "You can sleep there. Unless you'd rather sleep in the living room."

"I think I'd rather sleep upstairs in your room, if that's okay with you."

Marinette nodded. "Of course."

Once he was done, Chat Noir followed Marinette up to her room. As soon as the trap door was closed, she turned around, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. "Why don't you want to let your family know you're alright?" she asked.

Chat Noir rolled his eyes. "Because I'm supposed to be dead?" he said. "If it gets back to the guys who did this to me that I'm still alive and texted home, that could be...bad."

Marinette frowned. "Okay, I guess I can see the logic there," she said. "Still, it bothers me that your family is out there somewhere, worried sick about you..."

Chat Noir sighed as he sat heavily on the chaise. "Trust me. There's only one thing my father is worried about. It sure isn't whether or not I'm alright." He yawned heavily. "I'm tired..."

Marinette studied him with worried eyes, then sighed. "Yeah, it's...pretty late. It's been a long day." She yawned herself, then padded over to the steps leading to her bed. "Goodnight, Chaton."

"Goodnight, Marinette," Chat Noir said as he nestled into the chaise, covering himself with blankets.

* * *

A white shape ghosted silently through the still, peaceful night sky over Paris, gliding over the beautifully lit cityscape and landing on the edge of the roof of the Musée Baccarat.

"Ah, Paris. It's a shame you won't be in the audience for my next show, Tantei-kun. You're going to miss out on a special performance. I suppose I'll see you next illusion..."

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. Detective Conan is the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:**

It's been a while... ^^;

I know I don't update my Miraculous Ladybug fics as often as you guys would like. I'm sorry about that-they're secondary to my Equestria Girls stuff, and life in general has been throwing all kinds of stuff at me for the last while.

Anyway, here's another chapter of A Little Chat. Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG/DETECTIVE CONAN: "A LITTLE CHAT"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter Three**

Sunlight spilled across Marinette's bed. Slowly, her bluebell eyes fluttered open. Letting out a sleepy moan, she sat up.

Her bleary eyes locked onto a dark, blurry shape perched on the foot of her bed. She let out a shriek, jumped up, grabbed a book from her reading shelf, and threw it.

"Meowch!" a young boy's voice said.

Marinette's vision cleared, the fog of sleep lifting from her mind. She rubbed her eyes to find Chat Noir perched on the foot of her bed, rubbing the side of his head where the book had struck. "Chat Noir?" She blushed furiously, pulling her sheets up tightly over herself. "What are you doing on my bed, you tomcat?!"

Chat Noir smiled down at her. "I couldn't help myself," he said. "I wanted to know what My Lady looks like when she's asleep. So beautiful, by the way."

Marinette ducked her head, trembling. "Out!" she cried. "Go downstairs and...and sweep or something until I come down for breakfast!"

"As you wish," Chat Noir said, sketching a bow before gracefully flipping down to the lower level of the loft and disappearing through the trap door.

Marinette groaned, facepalming. "Ugh," she muttered. "So insufferable..."

"Aww, I think it's adorable!" Tikki said, giggling.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "We need to find a way to fix that cat before I _fix that cat_ ," she groused, shoving herself out of bed and padding down to get dressed.

* * *

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

The sound of the antique clock echoed throughout the empty, silent manor. Nathalie Sancoeur sat at the massive dining table where Adrien should have been at that precise moment, eating breakfast and having his schedule dictated to him.

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

Today, there was nothing to schedule. Adrien was still missing. Gabriel had cleared his calendar. Was nowhere to be found. Ordered that he not be disturbed unless it was news about his son.

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

Nathalie closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. She stood up, pulling out her phone, and called Adrien's bodyguard. "Watch the house," she ordered. "I'm going to go to his friends' houses, ask questions. Maybe there's something we've missed."

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

It was a lie. There was nothing they'd missed. They'd asked everyone. Nobody knew anything.

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

But she couldn't take one more second of the emptiness.

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

Not one more second of that damn clock.

 _Tick...tock...tick...tock..._

* * *

The morning rush of customers at the boulangerie had been amused by the antics of the "Chat Noir themed helper" who packaged orders with a flair in between running back and forth between the kitchen and the front to bring fresh stock and doing assorted chores around the store. Some time after Marinette left for school, the tide of customers visiting the boulangerie ebbed. Tom headed upstairs for a mid-morning break, cracking his back. Downstairs, Chat Noir helped Sabine tidy up the store.

Sabine watched him work, a pensive frown on her face. "Chat Noir?" she began.

"Yes ma'am?"

Sabine smiled kindly at him, though her eyes shone with worry. "Are you absolutely sure there isn't someone you should tell about your situation? Maybe...maybe it would be a good idea to—"

"I can't let anybody know who I really am," Chat Noir said. "Not even—no, _especially_ not my father." He shrugged. "I just have to hope Ladybug finds a way to fix this soon. I don't _like_ being stuck like this." He paused, then added, "I don't like being a freeloader in your home, either, even though you've been very kind to me."

"Oh, don't worry about _that_ ," Sabine said. "We don't mind in the least. It's just..." She sighed. "Well..." She worried nervously with her wedding ring.

Chat Noir leaned against the broom he was using. "I know, somewhere out there, someone's worried about me, right?" he said.

"Well...that's one thing that bothers me," Sabine admitted. "Among many other things." She took a deep breath, then looked Chat Noir in the eyes. "How long do you think it'll really take _everyone_ who's seen you like this to figure out the truth, Adrien?"

Chat Noir stiffened. "Uhh..."

"You say you've been stuck like this for three days," Sabine said. "That's exactly how long ago Adrien Agreste disappeared. I'm honestly amazed Marinette hasn't put it together yet."

Chat Noir looked away. "Y-yeah," he said, his cheeks heating up. "I, uhh...I know about her crush on me. Well, I do _now_. It's hard not to, with that...all that up in her room. I mean...yikes."

Sabine frowned mildly. "It bothers you?"

"Well...not really," Chat Noir said. He ducked his gaze, smiling slightly. "Honestly? It's the best thing to come out of this whole mess. Now that I know, as soon as I'm back to normal I can, umm...maybe see where that goes." His blush deepened.

Sabine smiled. "I've always felt like you two were perfect for each other." She frowned again. "Which is why you need to be honest with her before she figures it out on her own. And she _will_."

Chat Noir sighed. "I just...it's awkward right now, you know? A big part of the reason I don't want to change back in front of anyone right now is, well..." He wrung his hands. "This is embarrassing."

Sabine shook her head. "I...I can understand that," she said. "But I really think it's the right thing to do. Especially since you don't really know how long you'll be stuck like this, right? Marinette's going to eat herself up with worry the longer this drags on unless she knows the truth."

Chat Noir bowed his head. "You're probably right," he said. "I just...I need time to work up the nerve to be straight with her."

"Don't take too long," Sabine advised. She grimaced. "I'm worried about what your father is likely to do. Christmas was bad enough, and you were only missing for a couple of hours."

Chat Noir winced. "Yeah...I am _not_ looking forward to the shouting match we'll have when I go home."

"What _did_ happen on Christmas, anyway?" Sabine asked curiously.

Chat Noir had the grace to look sheepish. "I, umm...I was just kind of mad at the world that night. You know, first Christmas without my mom, Father was being...well, Father..." He shook his head. "I just needed to be out of that house, so I went cat and took a little run around Paris being, well..." His tail drooped. "A dumb emo teen." He sighed. "It's just dumb luck that the one time Father bothers to check on me, I'm out doing...this."

"Oh," Sabine said, her eyes sad. She drew Chat Noir into a hug. "I think I understand," she said. "You've had it rough, haven't you?" She let go, then gave him a motherly frown. "And if you come clean with Marinette, she can be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on. She'll want to."

Chat Noir sighed. "Yeah..."

* * *

Marinette sighed as, once again, Adrien failed to materialize in his seat next to Nino. A heavy air hung over the class. Mademoiselle Bustier finished taking roll, then glanced at the empty seat and sighed. "No word yet?" she asked the class at large.

"Gabriel's been working my daddy over pretty hard," Chloé said, the usual waspish air of superiority gone from her voice. She looked as lost as Marinette felt.

"Papa's been working all night looking for him," Sabrina added.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir, are they out looking too?" Nino asked. "They wouldn't let him down, would they?"

"Ladybug won't give up until Adrien is found," Marinette said confidently. "You can guarantee that."

"And Chat Noir?" Nino asked. "He's out looking too, right?"

Marinette winced, glancing at Alya. Alya shrugged. "Well, I...I actually heard that Chat Noir is taking care of that _other_ big thing that happened," Marinette said. "You know, that murder? I mean, a city councillor was murdered, you know. That's...that's important too, right?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Nino said, frowning. "Man, this week, right?"

"Yeah..."

Alya pursed her lips, frowning thoughtfully. She observed Marinette curiously.

Marinette hated liars. Hated lying.

And yet, she'd just very casually invented one heck of a tale to explain away something that honestly didn't need explaining away. Especially since anyone who thought too much about it might question why Marinette knew what Chat Noir was allegedly doing.

Also, the fact that Marinette had seized on _that_ specific current event for her little tale did not escape Alya's notice. Her journalistic instincts told her Marinette was hiding something.

Something other than a petit Chat.

* * *

"Incompetent!" Gabriel Agreste snarled, slamming a fist on Mayor Bourgeois' desk. "Your imbecilic police force couldn't find a bottle of wine in a restaurant!"

Andre Bourgeois bristled. "N-now see here, Monsieur Agreste," he said. "Paris is a very large city, Adrien is a single teenage boy! I assure you, every effort is being made—"

"In other words, you put that idiot Raincomprix in charge of the search," Gabriel said. "Which means my son will _never_ be found."

"Look, I understand," Mayor Bourgeois said. "I am also a father raising my child alone. I would be angry and impatient if something like this happened to my Chloé. But you must understand, we are doing everything humanly possible!"

Gabriel frowned, then straightened up, adjusting his jacket and ascot. "Yes. Yes, of course you are. Forgive me." He folded his hands behind his back. "I must attend to something. I will return this evening for an update on the search." With that, he stalked out of the Mayor's office, hand clasped to a small brooch he wore.

* * *

When Marinette returned home for lunch, she found Chat Noir excitedly helping her mother in the kitchen, grinning like the little kid he looked like. She giggled at the sight. "Enjoying yourself, minou?"

"I've never done this kind of thing before, this is fun!" Chat Noir said eagerly.

"Lunch will be ready for you kids in a few minutes," Sabine said. She gave Chat Noir a look Marinette couldn't quite interpret; he returned it with an apprehensive shake of his head. Sabine sighed slightly, but smiled. It took Marinette a minute to realize that her mother had just given Chat Noir the "isn't there something you need to say?" routine.

"Chat Noir, why don't you wash up, I can finish here," Sabine said. Chat Noir nodded and retreated to the bathroom.

Marinette frowned curiously. "What was all that about?"

Sabine shook her head. "I just...I've been trying to convince Chat Noir that he can trust us, that we won't tell anybody who he is. He's...he's a little stubborn about it."

Marinette sighed. "Well, it's to be expected," she said. "I mean, Chat Noir's been put in a lot of embarrassing situations fighting Akumatized with Ladybug, but this? This is the worst one yet."

Sabine frowned. "How would you know that?" she wondered.

"Oh! Umm...Ladyblog," Marinette said. "Plus, well...a lot of these Akumatized kind of happen at my school, you know? Or to my friends. Like when Juleka got Akumatized and turned everybody into a freaky-looking clown woman. Including Chat Noir! I saw it happen, too." She giggled.

"Oh," Sabine said, nodding thoughtfully. "That makes sense, I suppose. Well, go wash up for lunch."

After Marinette and Chat Noir ate, Marinette asked Chat Noir to head upstairs with her for a few minutes before she had to go back to school.

"What's up?" Chat Noir asked as he perched on the chaise.

"Chaton, what do you remember about the men who attacked you?" Marinette asked, picking up her tablet and stylus and dropping into her favorite desk chair.

Chat Noir frowned. "Not much. Well..." He scratched his cheek. "I got a pretty good look at the guy who poisoned me. I didn't see the other guy at all though."

Marinette tucked her legs underneath herself, her brow furrowed as she tapped and swiped away at her tablet. "Tell me what he looked like," she said.

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow with interest. "What, you're gonna draw the guy?"

"I'll try to," Marinette said. "You said he killed a city councillor, right? That means the police will be looking for a suspect in _that_ case. If you can give me a decent description of this guy, I can pass it on to Mayor Bourgeois as Ladybug..." She trailed off.

Chat Noir's eyes widened. "And if they can find him, we can find out what he poisoned me with and maybe get an antidote!" he finished excitedly. "My Lady, you are _awesome_."

Marinette blushed. "Well, one of us has to be," she said in a lightly teasing tone. "Okay, so tell me about this guy. How tall was he, what was his build, hair color, eyes, anything."

Chat Noir looked up at the ceiling, his brow furrowing. "Height and build...he was kind of like my fa—" He paused. "That wouldn't be much help." He shook his head. "Okay...I'd say height and build were similar to Monsieur Agreste." He nodded. "Yeah, my father and Monsieur Agreste have about the same build, and so did this guy."

Marinette began sketching a figure. "So between 180 and 185 centimeters, fit build?"

"Yeah." Chat Noir nodded. "He had dark skin."

"How dark?" Marinette asked.

"Not super dark, but...hmm..."

Marinette pulled out her phone and called up a photo, which she showed to Chat Noir. She tapped two boys in the picture with a fingernail. "Would you say as dark as Max here, or more like Nino here?"

"Kind of in between," Chat Noir said. "I think he may have been Mediterranean, he kind of had that look about him."

"Okay," Marinette said, putting her phone away and working on the sketch. "Eyes?"

"Ice blue," Chat Noir said. "Narrow, kind of set together a little. His nose was pretty thin." He paused. "Oh! He had a small scar on his chin, vertical, right up the cleft. Oh, and a scar on his left cheek, also vertical, about a half centimeter."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Pretty good memory, minou."

"Hey, the guy tried to kill me," Chat Noir said. "Besides, the kind of situations we get into, you learn to notice all kinds of things really fast."

"That's true," Marinette said as she worked. "How about his hair?"

"Didn't really see his hair," Chat Noir said. "He was wearing a black wool cap." He frowned. "And a black sweater, and a black flannel jacket."

"In this weather?" Marinette wondered as she drew.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Anything else?"

"That's all I remember."

Marinette nodded. A couple of minutes later, she turned her tablet around and held it out to Chat Noir. "Like this?"

"Wow, Marinette, you're amazing," Chat Noir said. "Yeah, that's pretty close. His eyebrows were a little thicker. His skin was maybe just a touch darker than that."

Marinette spent a moment making corrections, then showed the picture to Chat Noir again. He nodded, his brow drawing down. "Yeah, that's him."

"Okay." Marinette sent the picture to her printer, then spun her chair around. "Soon as I get a chance to slip out as Ladybug, I'll take this to the Mayor and get the police looking for this creep." She flashed Chat Noir a determined look over her shoulder. "We'll get this guy, minou."

"I hope so," Chat Noir said.

Marinette paused, a pensive frown on her face. "You know," she said, "I understand why you don't want to change back in front of me with this going on, but..." She smiled encouragingly. "I promise I won't make fun of you. I promise I'll understand. You are safe with me, safe with my family. You know that, right?"

Chat Noir sighed and ducked his head. "I know," he said. "I...I'm thinking about it, honestly. Your mother had a long talk with me this morning, tried...tried to encourage me to be honest. I just...I need time." He looked up at her, his eyes stormy. "Maybe...maybe tomorrow?"

Marinette smiled. "Okay," she said. "I won't push you." She frowned at the time. "I'd better be getting back to school." She folded the sketch and stuck it in her purse, then gave Chat Noir's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "See you later, Chaton."

After she left, Chat Noir flopped back on the chaise, staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm such a coward..."

* * *

True to form, Gabriel Agreste had returned to the mayor's office to demand a status update. He was singularly unimpressed with the lack of progress in the search. He was in the middle of berating Mayor Bourgeois again when Ladybug entered the office.

"Ladybug!" Mayor Bourgeois exclaimed thankfully, standing and straightening his sash. "What brings you by today?"

"Have you by any chance found my son?" Gabriel demanded sharply.

"Not yet, Monsieur Agreste," Ladybug said. "I'm actually here about a different matter." She pulled a folded sketch out of somewhere neither man could quite fathom and presented it to the mayor. "I've been sheltering a witness to the murder of Councillor Devereaux," she said. "This is a sketch of the killer."

Mayor Bourgeois gasped, taking the sketch in trembling hands and studying it. "Th-this is the man who killed Jean-Robert?"

"Andre," Gabriel said tersely, "my son is in danger. Councillor Devereaux is already dead. This can wait. My son cannot."

"Monsieur Agreste!" Ladybug snapped harshly, scandalized.

Mayor Bourgeois daubed at his forehead with his handkerchief and focused a steely gaze on Gabriel. "Jean-Robert was a good friend of mine," he said solemnly. "He...he helped me immensely in my first campaign. He was at Chloé's christening." He wadded his handkerchief in a clenched fist. "If...if this can help us find his killer, I—"

Gabriel bowed his head solemnly. "My...apologies. Councillor Devereaux was a good man," he said. "He deserves justice. I spoke inappropriately." He adjusted his glasses with one finger. "Andre, Ladybug, I'll leave you to attend to this." He turned and headed for the door.

"Monsieur Agreste?" Ladybug called softly to his back. "We'll find Adrien. I promise."

Gabriel spared her a brief glance, nodded stiffly, and left.

* * *

Evening turned to night. As the hour drew late, Sabine went upstairs to fetch Marinette and Chat Noir for dinner. She found Chat Noir standing just below the trap door, rocking on his heels. She tilted her head. "What are you doing out here?" she wondered.

Chat Noir blushed. "Umm...Marinette's...changing," he said.

"Oh," Sabine said, suppressing a giggle. "Well, when she's done, tell her dinner's ready." She paused, then whispered, "Have you thought about—"

"Tomorrow," Chat Noir promised. "I...tomorrow. It's Saturday tomorrow, so...yeah."

"Alright."

The trap door opened, and Marinette peeked out. "Oh! Mama, didn't hear you down here."

Sabine chuckled. "Dinner's ready."

"Okay. We'll be down in just a minute." As soon as Sabine headed downstairs, Marinette dropped through the trap door. "I gave the sketch to Mayor Bourgeois," she whispered. "All of Paris is looking for this creep now."

"Thank you," Chat Noir said gratefully. He tilted his head. "You were gone an awfully long time."

Marinette sighed. "I was searching for Adrien," she said. "I'm...I'm scared to death something terrible's happened to him. And...you should've seen his father. He was hounding the mayor, it...it was scary."

Chat Noir looked away. "I see," he said quietly. He shook his head. "Let's...let's go to dinner. Maybe tomorrow...maybe tomorrow something good will happen."

"Maybe," Marinette said.

* * *

In the cellar of a bar on the outskirts of Paris, a dark man with ice blue eyes sat alone at a wood table, drinking from a small glass.

The door to the cellar burst open; the dark man reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. He relaxed when he recognized the man who descended the stairs, a heavyset redhead with a scrub of beard, a hooked nose, and a heavy brow. He was scowling, and his green eyes flashed with anger and irritation. "You shouldn't make such a showy entrance, Stout," the dark man said. "I almost shot you."

"I ought to shoot _you_ ," the man named Stout grumbled in a faint Irish brogue. "We're in deep shit because of you."

The dark man raised an eyebrow. "Are we now? What do you mean?" Stout threw a newspaper at him. The dark man picked it up with a frown, scanning the front page. His eyes widened. "What the hell—?!"

"Somebody saw you, Ouzo," Stout said, settling at the table with a grunt. "Went to the Mayor with a damn detailed sketch. The police are out in force looking for you."

Ouzo snarled a Greek curse. "How the hell?" he spat. "I killed the only witness! You saw it! I gave him that drug!"

"We should've cut his throat," Stout grumbled. "I don't trust poisons. They're not always foolproof."

"Dammit, we got that stuff from the Japanese branch," Ouzo said sourly. "They assured us it's untraceable and lethal."

"So what now?" Stout asked.

"We wait for orders," Ouzo said, tossing back his drink in one gulp.

The cellar door opened again. Heels clicked sharply on the steps. Long, slender, fair-skinned legs descended into view. Both men tensed.

"My my...you boys made quite a mess," a honeyed voice said.

The woman who emerged from the stairs wore a black business suit and heels. She had blue eyes, long blond hair, and smooth, fair skin.

"Vermouth," Ouzo said, his mouth suddenly dry.

"We expect our agents who earn codenames to perform to the highest standard," Vermouth said, shaking her head. "Not even a month after earning your codenames, you've already broken the first taboo. You left a witness alive. Your face is all over the news."

"It's not _possible!_ " Ouzo snarled. "I killed the only witness! A teenage boy! There was no one else!"

"Blame your stupid poison, not us!" Stout said. "If it was worth anything, this wouldn't—"

"Poison?" Vermouth interrupted sharply, her eyes narrowed. "Your witness, you gave him APTX-4869?"

"That's right," Ouzo said. "I was assured it was completely lethal."

Vermouth sighed. "Well...that explains it." She looked intently at the two men. "The boy, the witness, did you recognize him?"

Stout shrugged. "He was just some kid. Blond hair, maybe fourteen or fifteen."

"I recognized him," Ouzo said. "He's a little famous in Paris. His name is Adrien Agreste."

"The son of Gabriel Agreste," Vermouth said, nodding. "That makes this situation even worse than it already was."

"But we _killed him!_ " Ouzo insisted.

Vermouth laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. "They really should have warned you, Ouzo..."

She pulled a nine millimeter handgun out of her blazer.

"APTX-4869 has a _spectacular_ habit of leaving survivors."

She fired two shots into Ouzo, one into his chest, the other into his forehead.

"I _don't._ Unless I intend to."

"You—!" Stout roared, drawing his own gun. Before he could get a shot off, Vermouth emptied her clip into him. He slumped to the floor, his gun clattering to the ground beside him.

Vermouth sighed and pocketed her gun, then calmly walked around the room, examining the various spirits on the shelves. She pulled down every bottle of liquor and wine, throwing them into the center of the room. They smashed on the concrete floor, their contents spreading and mixing.

Once she'd made a circuit of the cellar and was back at the foot of the steps, Vermouth pulled a cigarette case and a matchbook out of her pocket. She placed one cigarette between her blood red lips, eyeing the two dead bodies on the floor with cold amusement. "By the way...you're fired," she said casually. She struck a match to light her cigarette, then tossed the still-burning match into the pool of booze on the floor. As it caught, she struck another match, used it to light the entire matchbook on fire, then tossed it at Ouzo's cooling corpse. His flannel jacket caught fire, adding to the growing conflagration.

Vermouth calmly walked up the steps, her heels clicking sharply as she left the burning cellar.

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. Detective Conan is the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:**

I didn't expect to update this one again so quickly, but I got into a good solid groove, so here we are.

I'd like to gently remind my readers that patience is a virtue. Posting reviews that say things like "please don't take forever to update this again" really isn't very nice, and you should be more patient and respectful. Writers have lives, writers have other hobbies, and some writers are juggling _dozens_ of stories at once.

So here's yet another new chapter of this. Enjoy! Don't be dismayed if this doesn't update again for a while...

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG/DETECTIVE CONAN: "A LITTLE CHAT"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter Four**

Saturday dawned rainy and grey.

For the first time in a very, very long time, Nathalie Sancoeur woke up with a splitting headache. Her glasses were tossed carelessly on the end table of her small, spartan living room. Her blazer was absent, her blouse and skirt in disarray; her hose and heels were God-knew-where, and she was sprawled in an ungainly heap on her leather sofa. An empty bottle of wine stood on the lacquered table before her.

Sitting up gingerly and wincing, she rubbed her head, letting out a low groan.

A hangover.

Her boss' son, the boy whose life it was her job to micromanage, was missing, possibly _dead_ , and she had spent the entire night getting drunk alone in her living room. A living room she rarely ever saw; most of the time, she lived in a suite at the Agreste mansion, but she maintained her own separate apartment for personal reasons.

She stood unsteadily, weaving her way through the apartment, shedding clothes as she approached her bathroom. She unpinned her hair and turned on the shower, letting the water get hot before stepping into the spray and tilting her head back. The heat soothed away the aches from her awkward slumber and ebbed away the throbbing in her head. As the pain in her head slowly faded, she took time to lather up her body and hair with shampoo and body wash, then slowly, laboriously scrubbed every millimeter of herself clean. Satisfied and far less foggy-headed, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a large terrycloth towel around herself and plugging in her hair dryer.

As she dried herself off, she contemplated the day ahead of her.

With Adrien missing, there wasn't much for her to do. Gabriel was incommunicado.

She effectively had the day off.

That notion didn't appeal to her. Not with things the way they were.

Her ablutions finished, she returned to her bedroom to get dressed. She started to take down one of her usual suits for the day, but stopped with a frown. Shaking her head, she assembled a casual outfit—jeans, a pullover sweatshirt, socks, and tennis shoes—and tied her hair back in a loose ponytail. She gathered up her wallet, phone, glasses, and keys, then left her apartment, mulling over possible morning destinations in her mind. Seeing that it was drizzling, she went back for her umbrella.

Going to the mansion was...not appealing.

Anywhere Adrien normally hung out...

Her stomach rumbled. She frowned.

There was a boulangerie, one owned by the parents of a friend of Adrien's.

Nathalie nodded firmly, her first stop of the day decided.

* * *

"Chat Noir...wake up, Chat Noir..."

Chat Noir snored more loudly, curling up around a pillow.

Marinette giggled, shaking her head, then poked him with the folded bamboo umbrella. "Come on, you silly cat, wake up already!"

Chat Noir groaned and rolled over on his back, peering at her with bleary green eyes. "It's too early," he complained.

"I know, but we want to get the Saturday Special before the customers come in and buy them all up," Marinette said. With an impish smirk, she added, "We can both go back to sleep after we eat."

Chat Noir yawned, shuffling to his feet. "Okay, okay," he said. He stretched. "So what's this Saturday Special?"

"Well, that's the fun part," Marinette said. "It's never the same thing twice. Mama pretty much decides what it's going to be on the spot and makes enough for us plus about the first twenty customers, but if I don't get downstairs in time, she sells mine too."

"Ouch."

There was a knock on the door. It lifted a bit, and Sabine poked her head in. "Good morning, you two!"

"Morning, Mama," Marinette said. "I was just telling the lazy kitty here about the Saturday Special."

Sabine chuckled. "Well, we'll probably have plenty of those this morning, with this rain." She sighed. "It's going to be a slow day. Anyway, Chat Noir, would you come downstairs for a minute? I have something for you."

"For me?" Chat Noir asked, blinking. He glanced at Marinette, who shrugged. Frowning, he followed Sabine downstairs.

Sabine took a folded bundle out of a closet and presented it to him with a serious look. "Yesterday, when I went out to run an errand, I picked up a few clothes that would fit you like you are now," she said. "I'm guessing you probably need clothes, right?"

Chat Noir grimaced. "Kinda, yeah," he said. "I, uhh...the clothes I was wearing when this happened to me didn't shrink with me, and they're folded up in that gym bag I borrowed from Monsieur Dupain."

"I see," Sabine said. "Well, it isn't much, but they're clean, they should fit, and there's...there's also a baseball cap and some sunglasses, in case you're that dead set on hiding your identity from Marinette." She didn't bother to hide the disapproval in her tone.

Chat Noir sighed. "Thank you," he said. "It...it would be nice to not be Chat Noir all the time while I'm like this. And...and I'm going to tell her today." He grimaced. "First chance I get." His stomach growled. "Maybe...after breakfast?"

Sabine laughed. "Alright. Go get changed and washed up first. That—Kwami, was it?—of yours would probably like to eat too."

Chat Noir winced. "Yeah, Plagg's gonna kill me for letting him go this long without...yeah." He accepted the clothes, then headed for the restroom. As soon as he broke his transformation, he looked at the somewhat irritated Plagg and sighed. "I'm sorry," he said.

Plagg snorted. "Better feed me good, kid."

"I will, I will," Adrien said as he began unfolding the clothes and checking them against his small frame. "Umm...would you go up to Marinette's room and warn her that I'm not Chat Noir right now? But tell her I'm still going to...not quite tell her who I am yet."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not." He zipped through the door. Adrien shook his head and dressed himself. He looked at himself in the mirror, adjusted his new clothes a bit here and there, and put on the cap and sunglasses Sabine had given him.

"Well...I guess it'll hold until breakfast is over," he decided with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, he left the bathroom and headed downstairs. A minute later, Marinette joined him, Plagg floating in lazy circles around her head. She looked him up and down, her head cocked curiously. "So...you changed back, but you're still hiding your identity, huh?"

Adrien grimaced. "After breakfast," he said. "Just...after breakfast."

"Okay," Marinette said, brow furrowed. He could see it in her eyes—Ladybug's mind at work, catching something out of place, threading it together.

"More importantly, I'm looking forward to this Saturday Special thing," Adrien said with a grin. Marinette giggled, and they headed for the back of the boulangerie floor, where Tom was slaving over the hot ovens and Sabine was...

Adrien frowned. "What in the world...?"

Sabine was hollowing out baguettes and stuffing the crusts with cheese omelettes, shredded fried potatoes, and crumbled sausage. She saw them walk in and smiled. "It's such a miserable morning I thought I'd go with something a little more American today," she said. "I mean, who's going to do anything in this mess anyway? And it's supposed to do this most of the day."

"Wow, that's...a lot of food for breakfast," Adrien said.

Sabine shrugged. "Once in a while, non?"

Marinette giggled. "That's the thing about the Saturday Special," she said. "Sometimes it's a fruit pastry, sometimes it's a bagel—Papa isn't very happy with the bagel ones, but at least Mama can make them taste decent—and sometimes it's dinner in a crust of bread."

"And sometimes it's a disaster," Tom said jovially. "Remember when you decided to try a Japanese recipe for your Saturday Special, dear?"

Sabine cringed. "That...was not my best moment," she said. She finished stuffing two crusts and plating them, then handed them to the kids. "Here you go," she said. "I think given the rain and everything, I'm just going to make these to-order today."

Marinette and Adrien sat down on the steps with their breakfast, Plagg hovering expectantly nearby. Sabine noticed him and called out, "Plagg, was it? I'm making a cheese omelette just for you if you'll be patient."

"Ah, someone who knows how to treat a cat with respect," Plagg said, smacking his lips and flying away. Tom stared at the little Kwami, then shook his head and went back to work.

"That's gonna take some getting used to," Adrien muttered as he took a bite of his breakfast. "Wow. This is good."

The door opened, and a woman in a sweatshirt and jeans walked in, wiping stray raindrops off her glasses and shaking out her ponytail. "Welcome," Sabine said from the kitchen as Plagg ducked out of sight. "What can I get for— _Nathalie?_ "

Adrien nearly choked on his breakfast. He stared at the woman who had walked in and realized that it was, indeed, Nathalie Sancoeur. _"Merde..."_ he whispered.

Sabine moved to the counter, concern in her eyes. "You're a mess," she said. "Your eyes are so red and puffy, what—"

Nathalie coughed once. "Good morning, Sabine," she said a bit raspily. "Please...not so loud. I'm...having one of those mornings."

Sabine took in her bloodshot appearance and frowned. "A hangover?"

"Please don't tell anyone you saw me like this," Nathalie said.

"Of course not," Sabine assured her.

On the steps, Adrien drew in on himself, completely hiding his face behind his plate and his knees. Marinette frowned at him, but returned her attention to Nathalie.

"What can I get you?" Sabine asked.

"Anything is fine, I just...I need to eat. I may or may not have drunk an entire bottle of wine last night and I'm pretty sure I didn't bother eating any dinner."

 _"Mon Dieu,"_ Sabine breathed. "What...why...?" She motioned for Nathalie to come behind the counter. "No, come here, I think you should go upstairs with me, sit down...I'll fix you something to help..."

"Thank you," Nathalie said. As the two women headed upstairs, the kids—who had scrambled out of their way as they approached—heard, "I...this isn't a thing I do, this..."

"I know it isn't," Sabine soothed. "Is it...is it because of Adrien?"

"Him and...and Monsieur Agreste, and...and that _damn clock_ that won't stop ticking," was the last they heard before the women were out of earshot.

"Poor woman," Marinette said softly, eyes wide. "She always acts like such a robot, but...yikes."

Adrien sighed. "Yeah..." He shuffled his feet. "Marinette? Let's...let's go up to your room and...and talk."

Marinette peered at him. "Okay," she said. They took their half-eaten breakfasts with them as they headed for the loft.

Plagg, watching them from the kitchen, sighed. "Good luck, kid," he said. He then turned to the block of cheese that would have gone into his omelette and began scarfing it down. Tom shook his head and sighed.

"Crazy day," Tom muttered.

* * *

Nathalie nursed a cup of strong coffee while Sabine bustled around in the kitchen. "The Saturday Specials I was making downstairs would probably not be a good idea right now, so how does porridge and fresh fruit sound?"

"Perfect," Nathalie said. "Thank you, Sabine. I...I'm sorry to put you out like this."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Sabine assured her. "This week...it can't have been easy."

"No, it hasn't been," Nathalie said miserably. "I hate to think what's happening with the company, I haven't been on top of my game all week, Monsieur Agreste does nothing but go back and forth between the mansion and City Hall, he's cancelled everything, nobody has the slightest clue where Adrien is..."

Sabine paused in her cooking, hiding a wince. "He'll...he'll turn up," she said. "I'm sure he will."

"I...I hope so," Nathalie said. "It hasn't been easy on him, this past year. His father getting more and more restrictive, then finally giving him some freedom but always with the implicit threat that he might take those freedoms away at a moment's notice. And..." She grimaced. "If...if Adrien disappears like...like _she_ did..."

Sabine brought a light breakfast to the table and placed it before Nathalie, then sat across from her. "I've always wondered about that," she said. "I mean, I only know what I've heard, and it isn't much, but..."

Nathalie shook her head. "She just disappeared one day," she said. "Monsieur Agreste spent months searching for her, hiring investigators..." She shook her head. "Nothing. After that, he...he withdrew. I mean, he was always withdrawn and reserved, but he...he shut himself off. And walled Adrien up in the mansion."

"Oh dear..."

"I just wish somebody knew _something_ ," Nathalie said. "Having this happen again so soon..."

Sabine sighed. "I know," she said. "His friends are all worried too. Especially Marinette, she's...she's been beside herself with worry." She sipped her own coffee, then said, "Marinette has a huge crush on Adrien."

Nathalie snorted. "Her and half the girls in Paris," she said. "I shred fifty pounds of fan mail a week."

"This is different," Sabine said. "Marinette isn't...it's not because he's a model or because he's famous. It's because he's Adrien." She smiled. "I won't deny it, I ship them."

Nathalie's lips quirked in a wry smile. "Huh." She sighed. "I hope..." She shook her head and busied herself with her porridge.

Sabine wanted desperately to tell her that Adrien was right there in the building with them, alive and well, being taken care of.

But she couldn't. She had to keep up the pretense.

 _*Is this what it's like, him being Chat Noir, having to keep such a secret? Does Ladybug feel this way too?*_

Her thoughts turning to Ladybug, she prayed the heroine would hurry up and do whatever she needed to do to turn Adrien back to normal, to end everyone's pain...

* * *

Marinette perched on her favorite chair, setting her plate on her desk. "So...I guess this is it, huh?"

"Yeah." Adrien sighed and took off his hat and glasses. "Marinette, I—"

Marinette swept him up in a huge hug. "Oh thank GOD," she breathed. She looked into his startled eyes, blushed, and set him down. "I mean, umm..." She poked her fingertips together. "Wow. This explains...a lot."

"Yeah," Adrien said. He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I...kind of expected you to be a little more...freaked out, honestly."

"Oh, I'll freak out in a few minutes," Marinette promised. "Then I'll get angry and start throwing things at you. Then I'll go completely spastic because you're Adrien and I have a massive crush on you." She gave him a serious look. "I'm telling you all this so you know what to expect," she said gravely.

"Uhh...noted," Adrien said, gulping.

"But right now I'm just relieved you're not dead in a ditch somewhere," Marinette said. "Although come to think of it, I should've kinda worked this one out for myself, I mean, you disappear for days, Chat Noir gets turned into a little kid around the same time..." She shook her head. "Kind of obvious."

"Yeah, your mom figured it out," Adrien said. "Pretty much guilted me into letting the cat out of the bag." He sighed. "Speaking of guilt...Nathalie... _merde_..."

Marinette grimaced. "I...think for now, this is as far as the secret goes," she said. "I'm pretty sure your dad won't...take this very well."

Adrien snorted. "If he _ever_ found out about this, he'd lock me in a cage. Literally. I mean, it'd be a _nice_ cage, but..." He sighed, then looked around the room. "So, umm...awkward time for this, but..."

Marinette blinked, then went pale. "Umm...y-yeah," she agreed, blushing.

Adrien shook his head. "I mean, now is _really_ not the time for this, but...I guess we need to at least acknowledge it?" He wrung his hands. "I'm in love with you, Marinette. I really am. I fell in love with you as Ladybug, and...and you being Marinette under the mask is the best thing I ever could've hoped for." His cheeks burned red.

Marinette let out a funny squeak. "R-really?"

"Yeah," Adrien said. He took a deep breath. "So, umm...after we find a way to fix this, umm...I'm thinking maybe we could go out sometime?"

"Uh-huh," Marinette squeaked, her head bobbing up and down.

"Well, you broke her, Adrien," Tikki said, emerging into the open with a giggle. "I kinda suspected you were Chat Noir all along," she added. "I mean, a lot of little things did kinda point to it."

Adrien spent a long moment eating in silence, then said, "I'm...worried about Nathalie." He frowned. "I've never seen her like this. It...this is because of me." He hung his head miserably.

Marinette frowned. "Yeah...we can't just tell her the truth, but...it bothers me too, seeing her the way she is..." She started absently fidgeting with various small items around the room, brow furrowed. "We have to do _something_ ," she decided.

"But what?" Adrien asked. "I mean, the only way we can help her is to tell her the truth, and we can't...we _can't._ "

"I know," Marinette said. She frowned. "Unless..."

Adrien watched her warily. "Unless?"

"No, that won't work, nevermind," Marinette said, shaking her head. "Besides, it's too much lying, especially with your father believing Ladybug is tirelessly searching..." She frowned. "Of course, until about ten minutes ago, that _was_ true..."

"What're you thinking, Marinette?" Tikki asked warily.

"Yeah, what _are_ you thinking?" Adrien asked.

Marinette ran a hand through her hair. "I was just thinking...what if Ladybug dropped in and, maybe...told Nathalie she has you stashed somewhere safe? That you witnessed that murder the other day and somebody tried to kill you, and you ended up..."

"Yeah, that wouldn't work," Adrien said. "For a lot of reasons. Plus, your mom knows what really happened to me, so...spinning one like that, it'd pretty much be confessing you're Ladybug."

Marinette winced. "Yeah," she said. She let out an aggravated groan. "Ugh! I...I got nothing," she said. "I mean, if stealing a phone was involved I'd know what to do, but..."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Stealing a phone?"

Marinette made a stuck noise. "Uhh..."

Tikki giggled. "Don't even get me started," she said. "If Paris knew that their beloved Ladybug was a serial phone thief for the most _ridiculous_ reasons..." With a sly smirk, she added, "She even stole _your_ phone one time, Adrien!"

"TIKKI!"

Adrien blinked. "Wait, what?"

Marinette blushed. "It...it's complicated!" she said. "There...there was this voicemail, and...and it was an accident, and I couldn't let you hear it, so I had to grab your phone while you were at fencing so I could erase it, and..." She sighed. "Yeah."

"Wait," Adrien said, brow furrowing. "This...was this right around the time we fought Copycat?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. So that's what happened."

Marinette ducked her head. "Sorry. I'm...I do stuff, sometimes...that's not very heroic."

Adrien sighed. "Yeah, well, I think I understand." He paused. "Well, no, I don't understand any of _that_ , but I know how little things can snowball out of control. The whole Rogercop thing was basically Plagg's fault."

Tikki and Marinette blinked. "How's that now?" Marinette asked.

"It was Plagg who stole Chloé's bracelet," Adrien admitted.

"I...see," Marinette said, narrowing her eyes. "Well, I'll have to have a few words with Plagg about that later." She frowned. "And... _why_...?"

"It was shiny."

"Yeah, that sounds like Plagg," Tikki said with a sigh.

Marinette ran her hands through her hair, then pulled on her pigtails. "Great," she drawled flatly. "At least when _I_ steal stuff, it's for a good reason."

Tikki gave her a look. "Really?"

"Well—!" Marinette flushed. "Okay, so it's for a really crazy reason usually, but there's at least a reason!"

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "And...exactly how often do you steal stuff?"

Tikki smirked. "Three phones and a memory card," she said.

Adrien blinked. "Huh. Maybe _you_ should be the cat," he said teasingly. "I mean, you've obviously got the burglar part down..."

Marinette threw a stuffed animal at him.

* * *

The day wore on, dark and dreary, a light, steady rain falling. Once Nathalie had left to go home and rest, a quiet mood had taken hold in the boulangerie; very few customers trickled in through the day. The most memorable customer arrived early in the afternoon: a Japanese teenager, a tourist by the look of him, with wild dark hair and sharp blue eyes, wearing a black tracksuit with the hood pulled up over his head. He bought a box of macarons and asked Sabine a few questions about Trocadero, the gardens, and a couple of landmarks. He tipped generously and flashed Marinette an impish wink as he left, eliciting a mild frown from Adrien. Tom had been let in on the 'Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste and we are now hiding him from his father' thing, which he had not been a fan of; he had agreed to defer to his wife's judgment in the matter, and assured Adrien that he understood how the boy felt about the situation. Even as he did so, he gave Marinette an odd, thoughtful look.

With the rain continuing well past the forecast time, Tom decided to close early for the day, and the family plus guest took hot chocolate to the living room upstairs to watch television. At Adrien's insistence, they checked the news first; there was no news about the manhunt for Councillor Devereaux's killer, but there _was_ a story about a small bar on the outskirts of town burning to the ground under mysterious circumstances.

"Two bodies were found in the cellar, where the fire is believed to have started," the anchor reported. "Police say the bodies show signs of having been killed by gunfire; the fire appears to have been set to destroy the evidence, but either due to the early morning rains or insufficient fuel for the fire, enough remains of the two bodies that police are hopeful they can be identified."

"Oh my God," Marinette said, paling.

"Yeesh. Give me Hawk Moth any day," Adrien said, shuddering. "I mean, yeah, supervillains are dangerous, violent, and there've been some close calls, but at least that's a kind of violence I can _understand_."

"This week has...certainly been rough," Sabine said worriedly. "A city councillor shot, your situation, and now _this?_ "

Marinette frowned thoughtfully. "Adrien, come help me with something real quick?"

"Huh?" He caught the look in her eye and nodded. "Sure."

"We'll be right back," Marinette promised her parents as she led Adrien upstairs.

Once they were safely in the loft, Adrien crossed his arms. "What's up?"

Marinette began pacing. "You said there were _two_ men, right?"

"Yeah?" Adrien narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Marinette turned to face him. "This may sound crazy, but...what if those two dead bodies in that fire, the ones who were shot to death and burned..."

Adrien's eyes widened. "You think somebody...but why?"

"I don't know," Marinette said. "Maybe for revenge, or maybe..."

"Maybe to cover up something bigger," Plagg said solemnly, having joined the conversation along with a sad-looking Tikki.

"We've seen this kind of thing before," Tikki said. "Back in the 1920s, in San Francisco." She sighed. "Back then, the Miraculous users spent most of their time protecting innocent people from getting caught in the crossfire of organized crime."

Adrien frowned. "So wait, those guys that did this to me...they were gangsters?"

"Probably," Plagg said.

"And when my sketch got out to the media, somebody...somebody killed them to..." Marinette paled, sinking into her chair. "Oh no..." She shook her head. "No, no..."

Adrien jammed his hands in his pockets. "This...this is bad," he said roughly. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Marinette said, sounding lost and forlorn. "I thought this would help, but...I just made things worse..." She looked up at Adrien, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

Adrien gently embraced her. "It's not your fault," he said. "Neither of us could've seen this coming." He sighed. "We'll...we'll just have to figure out what to do next, that's all."

The sun broke through the clouds, casting thin golden rays into the room.

* * *

The rain had finally ended, and the fading afternoon sun broke through the clouds.

Gabriel Agreste had spent most of the day at Le Grand Paris, assembling a team of private investigators and experts in finding missing children and establishing a command post that gave him ready access to the mayor and any place in the vicinity his attention might be needed. Once he had set his team to work, he decided to return home and catch a few hours' sleep. He had slept very little since Adrien had vanished, and he _did_ have other matters that demanded his immediate attention, matters he could no longer afford to put on hold.

"Good afternoon, Gabriel."

Gabriel paused to regard the woman standing at the gate of his mansion. Even through his foul mood, a small smile broke through. "Sharon," he said, nodding slightly. "It's been a very long time."

"Mm, so it has." Sharon Vineyard sighed. "It hasn't been easy for you lately, has it? I heard...about Adrien being missing. It's so much like...what happened to _her_..."

Gabriel's mouth tightened. "He will be found," he said firmly. "He _will_ be found."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Sharon said. "Anyway, I was in Paris on business, I thought I'd drop by to check on you, pay my respects."

"I'd offer tea, but my assistant is out today," Gabriel said. He looked Sharon up and down. "I have many colleagues who would _kill_ for your secret," he said. "Not only have you not aged a day, you actually look _younger_ than the last time I saw you."

Sharon laughed. "Yes, well..." She smiled, her eyes shining with mischief. _"A secret makes a woman woman,"_ she said in English.

Gabriel snorted. "You're still saying that after all this time?"

"But of course," Sharon said. "It's the motto I live by..."

* * *

Marinette spent the remainder of the afternoon getting the guest room ready for Adrien; Sabine had decided it was no longer appropriate for him to crash on her chaise upstairs, and Adrien himself had agreed. Marinette had put up a token protest, but decided, in light of the way Adrien had chosen to wake her the day before, that perhaps it was for the best. After that, Sabine made dinner; everyone was in a fairly sleepy, quiet mood, so by mutual decision, the entire family plus one decided to call it a night early once the dishes were done and the table was cleared.

Once they'd settled into their bed, Tom turned to Sabine, a ponderous expression on his face. "Hon, if...if Adrien is Chat Noir, then...do you think maybe..."

Sabine glanced at him. "Maybe what?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but..." Tom frowned. "Actually, it'd make a lot of sense, it'd...it'd explain those absences..."

"What are you getting at, Tom?"

"It's just..." Tom shifted his bulk awkwardly. "Finding out Chat Noir is Adrien...it made me start to think...what if our daughter is Ladybug?"

Sabine's eyes widened. "I..." She paused. "...oh my God...you might have something there..."

"I think tomorrow we need to find out," Tom said as he turned off the lights.

"And...and if she is...?"

"If she is..." Tom sighed. "Then she is. I mean...I don't know. How do you even approach this?" He rolled over, the bed shuddering under his bulk. "Let's...let's get some sleep."

"Alright. Goodnight, dear."

Neither of them fell asleep for a long time.

* * *

A young, pale-skinned girl with blond hair and green eyes, wearing a green sundress and a large straw bonnet, walked down a hallway in a hotel in Haido City, Tokyo. She studied a phone in one hand and a series of old photographs in the other. Her mouth tightened into a thin, serious line.

As she approached one door, she knocked. A muffled voice called out from inside; after a long moment, the door opened. A Japanese teenager with tousled hair stood just inside; sharp eyes looked down at her, then widened in surprise. _"Uso,"_ the teen said.

The girl peered up at her. "Is Mary here?" she asked in passable, if halting, Japanese.

"Ah—I don't know anybody by that—" the teenager began.

"Yes you do, Masumi," the girl said firmly. "It's taken me the better part of a year to find you. Now, _is Mary here?_ "

Sera Masumi's face hardened, her posture tense and wary. "Who are you?" she challenged.

A gasp behind her drew both girls' attention.

A middle-school aged girl whose features were strikingly similar to the young girl in the hall stepped forward, eyes wide. "Impossible," she said in English. "E-Emilie? Is...is that you?"

"Yes," the younger girl said, sighing as she took in Mary's appearance. "So it's true. Both of us..."

"Mama?" Masumi asked shakily. "Who...who is...?"

Mary looked up at her, her expression wry. "Masumi, this is your aunt Emilie. Emilie Agreste."

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. Detective Conan is the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


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